A Last Memory
by EverHere
Summary: Jane has one last chance to speak to Gunther before he leaves for battle. Future-set.


Author's Note: My first _Jane and the Dragon _fiction. Hopefully it came out well. Thank you for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Jane and the Dragon_ or any of its characters.

A Last Memory

"Gunther."

The sudden sound of her voice was gently carried over the breeze to him.

He needed this moment, this stillness, before it was too late. There was so little time left before the army marched off to war tomorrow. Gunther had spent his entire life training as a knight, and yet when he was faced with the thought of battle...the thought of not _returning_ from battle...suddenly it hit him full force that his life was worthless. He had never pursued a life of his choosing, always completing chores for his father and Sir Ivon. He had always been so _busy_, never stopping to think about what he was doing with his life.

He could not escape his duties, but he knew that if was to fight for his kingdom, he could not leave behind any regrets, and the one thing he had never done was simply _exist._ Gunther needed to close his eyes and listen to the leaves rustle through the trees as the wind playfully chased through its limbs. The rhythmic sound of the crickets' calls, the way the soft ground gently sunk beneath his feet, and the cold, hard feeling of the stone wall pressing against his back. He wanted to feel alive, and nothing could have fulfilled his wish any more than this. Away from the bustle of the castle courtyard, in the simple silence of life after nightfall.

It would be a lie for him to say that he was not terrified of war. The rush of soldiers and deafening battle cries were enough to send shivers down your spine even during the heat of the moment. To know that your life was not only dependent on your own skill, but on the chance that a stray arrow would not hit you, or that you would not be placed in the front lines to charge down into the midst of the enemy.

Humans were chaos, that Gunther knew. They brought bitterness and regret and hatred wherever they settled. Out here, alone, everything was still chaotic, and yet...it made sense somehow. All the pieces weaved together so naturally; they relied on each other. War was indeed an art of its own, but not a pretty one...not a natural one.

And yet he felt that her unexpected presence here was the most natural thing in the world. That she should be here, with him, in this moment before he left.

Gunther slowly opened his eyes to face her, and his breath was immediately taken away. She probably had no idea how beautiful she was, he realized. Gentle wisps of Jane's deep scarlet hair brushed across her face and the worried crease in her brow. The shine in her eyes reflected their gentle sea-green color, and Gunther found himself to be trailing the curve of her neck with his eyes. She rested her weight on one leg, leaning to the right as her hand lightly gripped the hilt of her sword. _She'll never know how I really feel about her_, Gunther sadly thought to himself. If only she knew that his childish taunts all those years ago were truly that...the taunts of a _child_. He was a man now, and yet nothing had changed between them.

Jane would not be going into battle with Gunther and the other knights. The thought of her being out on the battlefield horrified them all, and so she had been put in charge of protecting the King and his family as well as keeping the castle secure. All the same, she looked ready to jump into the middle of a sword fight and come out victorious. The moonlight glinted off the light chain mail she wore, sharpening the ever-defiant aura that surrounded her. Jane would always be a knight at heart. It was the only thing she loved.

Stepping slowly towards him, she raised her slender hand and brushed away several dark tendrils of hair away from his eyes.

"Gunther," Jane began again, this time more gently, taking his face in her hands, "Talk to me."

He cast his eyes downward, avoiding her gaze, feeling the warmth of her fingertips against his jaw. "I don't have anything to say."

"I wish I could understand," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Gunther's gray eyes flickered up to meet hers as he lifted his head. "_I'm_ not sorry. I wouldn't want you to feel like this. _I _don't even know how to feel."

Lowering her hands to rest lightly on his chest, she stared into his eyes again. "Gunther...I know we haven't always been..._close_...in the past. But it's been many years since we were children." She paused for a moment, taking a breath, her eyes never leaving his. "I don't know when it started happening...but I think I...I mean, I..._care_... for you a great deal, Gunther." Jane whispered, the words barely passing over her lips.

Gunther froze. He hadn't thought he meant anything to her.

"...and Gunther, I can't stand the thought of you leaving..." Choking on her own words, she continued, "...of you leaving, and...and not..." She breathed in shakily, "...of something _happening _to you."

And then suddenly Jane lifted her head and Gunther could feel her soft lips caressing his own. He leaned down into the kiss as she raised a hand and fisted it into his hair, pulling him even closer.

It wasn't the kiss of a desperate man waiting to die, or the kiss of a woman giving up her love...just a soft, simple kiss. One of his hands rested on the curve of her waist while the other gently stroked the curls of her hair that he had always longed to touch.

And just as suddenly as Jane had leaned in and kissed him, she slowly pulled away. She lightly stroked his cheek and then took a step back.

"Promise me you'll come back, Gunther."

He swallowed. "Yes, Jane."

Turning on her heel, she left him with a weary smile as she walked away from him, her long hair swinging with each stride.

"Goodbye, Gunther."

Silently, Gunther watched her retreating figure until the darkness swallowed her.

He would never see her again.


End file.
